


Negotiations

by Fabrisse



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: AU, Angst, Denial of Feelings, Forgiveness, Harry Lives, M/M, Multi, pet death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 12:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4221252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabrisse/pseuds/Fabrisse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight months after Eggsy refused to shoot the dog, Harry comes to find him (at Merlin's behest) and bring him home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Negotiations

**Author's Note:**

> Full prompt:  
> “Prompt: Dean showed up when Eggsy was reuniting with Michelle and Daisy after he fails the test. Harry doesn’t go on the church mission. They go months without speaking. Harry finally decides to make things right and is shocked at what he finds. Dean was still mad about the car + pub fight situation and was at his worst. He put Eggsy through hell during all those months and now Harry is trying to pick up the pieces and fix a broken Eggsy.”
> 
> This deals with the aftermath with only mentions of the first part of the prompt.

"Harry, you're being an ass." Merlin's tone was bored.

"I'm an ass? I gave that young man a chance and he…"

"Couldn't shoot a dog. Neither could I. Several members of the support staff are in the same boat."

"How many of them stole Arthur's car?"

"None, but, while I don't excuse it, I could see the lad was lashing out and so could you at the time. And if it hadn't been for him stealing that car, I wouldn't have noticed the scar on Arthur's neck, and we wouldn't have been able to prevent V-Day."

Harry's lips thinned to a taut line. "So a lucky coincidence makes you think something unforgivable should be forgiven."

"I'm a Scot, Harry. We believe in omens and predestination -- and my doing so has gotten you out of a fair few bad situations -- so, yes, the fact that we were able to prevent Valentine sending the world to shit because he stole that taxi counts in his favor for me."

"You're the most irrational mathematician I know."

"Leaving aside the fact that I'm the only mathematician you know, there's a whole field of mathematics which deals with irrational numbers."

Harry said, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you so fucking certain that I should check up on him? That I'll forgive him. He could have waited until I got back, but he left again, just walked out with JB and…"

Merlin went quiet. "Have you ever watched the feed from your yelling at Eggsy?"

"I don't need to. I was right there."

"Yes, you were right there, stuck in your own head, certain of your superiority like the upper class Sassenach you are." Merlin pulled over a chair. "Sit down and watch it. Now."

Since Merlin was usually soft spoken and diplomatic, Harry took the order seriously. The scene came up in front of his eyes and he did his best to watch Eggsy dispassionately. At the end, he said, "Again, please, Merlin."

Merlin nodded and reran it from the beginning. 

This time when it ended, Harry just sat staring at his hands. After a moment he said, "He was in love with me."

"Not entirely sure it's in the past tense, but if it is, you caused it."

"Why didn't he wait?"

"Did you hear yourself Harry? You took away his hope. He walked out and went straight back to the Black Prince. He took on the same men you did, without a weapon of any sort and with the addition of his stepfather, and ended up in jail for it."

"He was sentenced?"

Merlin shook his head, "Never even charged."

Harry met Merlin's eyes. "You fixed it for him. He called you and you just fixed for him. He'll never learn responsibility, if you…"

"He didn't call me. I had his name flagged in every database I could think of because I thought something like this could happen without you there to guide him, without Kingsman to ground him."

Merlin's eyes hadn't wavered from Harry's. 

Harry said, "You're in love with him."

"Second time he visited you in the care unit, I saw his eyes were for you alone."

"And yours were for him?"

"An old man with a crush on a young one isn't as acceptable as the reverse."

Harry said, "Not a crush. Not for either of you."

Merlin said, "Not on my part, no. And Eggsy… Eggsy's never really been young, I think. It was sweet, innocent and probably the first time in his life that he had that kind of love, but it wasn't a crush."

"I thought I was taking a fatherly interest in him."

"After that mating display you pulled at the pub? Your head's farther up your arse than that silver spoon Eggsy mentioned."

"I swear I didn't realize until he stole the car. It's stupid, I know, but it felt like a betrayal beyond… I think I started yelling because I was afraid I'd start kissing him and…"

Merlin said, "Harry, you're my friend. I can say with absolute certainty that you've bollixed this up. I can't promise that it's not too late. But I can say that you should find him, talk to him, let him know that he's loved even if he says he never wants to see you again afterward."

"I suppose you know where I can find him?"

"It's Wednesday. He should be coming out of his lecture on Cultural Anthropology at the LSE."

"How the hell can he afford courses at the LSE?"

"He teaches a couple of Krav Maga classes. He tried working at a nursery for awhile, but there's a certain amount of prejudice about men doing that type of work."

"Merlin."

"He works at a strip club in Soho. Makes good money at it."

"Is he prostituting himself?"

Merlin said, "I don't know. I don't think so because he'd be able to afford more courses if he were."

"You wouldn't care if he were a whore would you?"

"No. And you shouldn't either. He's not selling drugs and living off someone else's misery. He hasn't become hired muscle, breaking heads just because someone tells him to. For god's sake, Harry, he earns extra money as a child minder. If he's a pro, he's chosen to sell the one thing he can say is completely his own." Harry looked like he was going to argue, so Merlin said, "How's it any different from a honey trap? We treat sex as part of our jobs. I know your last honey trap was less than a month ago. His way, if that's what he's doing, is more honest."

"Fair enough," Harry said quietly. "Is there some place he's likely to go after his lecture?"

"There's a café on Wardour Street and a Chinese restaurant a couple of doors down from it. He tends to hit one or the other."

"You've been keeping very close tabs on him."

"Not really. I let the computer analyze the patterns. I find it difficult to watch."

"Merlin…"

"Go see to him, Harry."

***  
It was a day for Chinese, apparently. A quick glance at the menu told Harry that the big bowl of soup noodle sitting in front of Eggsy was the cheapest thing on it. 

"May I join you?"

Eggsy looked up. He opened his mouth to say something, but gave a curt nod instead.

Harry sat down. "I wish you'd been there when I got back to the house."

Eggsy sat back in his chair really looking at Harry for the first time. "Nah, bruv, you didn't want me there. Made it clear I'm less 'an dirt b'neath your feet. You was right. Not 'bout the dog, that's a sick test, but 'bout me being stupid an all. 'Bout stealing Arthur's car."

"I was disappointed. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I was frightened. Not one of my candidates has ever made it to the table, though in the five cohorts since I became a knight, three of them have made it to the final two. That includes you. You must believe I was very, very proud."

"An' then I fucked it up. I know."

"Eggsy, you're…" The waitress came up and Harry ordered a bowl like Eggsy's but got the duck instead of char siu. "I understand that you beat up your stepfather, got him away from your mother and sister."

"Well, somethin' like that." 

Harry saw tears in his eyes.

"Eggsy, tell me, please."

"Mum's back with him. I've moved out, found a bedsit that'll let me keep Daisy. It's not far from here, but it's not student digs, 'cause my sister needs her quiet."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Eggsy looked at Harry closely. "You got your glasses on. Shoulda noticed first thing. Hiya, Merlin."

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. He took his glasses off and held them out to Eggsy who put them on.

"Hello to you, too, lad. I've missed having you around."

"Missed bein' around, Merlin. Wondered sometimes if I should apply to be a driver or somethin'."

"Lad, come back with Harry right now, and I'll put you in analysis, logistics, or testing for R & D. You're smart and you're good at it -- all of it."

"Just a mo' Merlin." He slid the glasses down his nose and looked at Harry. "D'you want me back, workin' for Kingsman?"

"There's a lot we need to talk about…"

Eggsy pushed the glasses back up. "Can't do it, Merlin. Not right now, at least."

"Just because Harry's emotionally constipated and behaving like a brat doesn't mean you can't come home. Bring Daisy and JB with you, lad."

The tears were really flowing now and he handed the glasses back to Harry. "What did you say to him, Merlin?"

"I just asked him to come home."  
.  
Eggsy pulled himself together and drank some water. "It weren't the invite, Merlin. I 'ppreciate that. But. Dean din't take well to bein' beaten up. When I got back from jail that night, he'd killed JB. Broke his neck and left him on me bed. As a lesson, he said. Grabbed Daisy an' her things and got out that minute." He gave Harry a weak smile. "I weren't posh enough to have him stuffed."

"Oh, Eggsy." Harry let the silence stretch for awhile, eating his soup and pleased when Eggsy went back to eating his as well. "You're a brave man -- braver than I gave you credit for and much braver than I would have been at your age. You've taken on the responsibility for a child. You're studying for a university degree. I can't believe how much I underestimated you. I'm profoundly sorry."

"Yeah, well, I stole your boss's car. I know I can't go back to Kingsman. Arthur'd never allow me, even as a mechanic or somethin'."

Harry took off his glasses and said, "Merlin wants to talk to you again. Frankly, I think he just should have come himself." He saw Eggsy's back stiffen. "I meant come with me, not instead of me." 

Eggsy's shoulders relaxed and he slipped on the glasses.

"Harry and I killed Arthur," Merlin said. "He had one of the Valentine scars. We figured out what the chips did and followed the signal to Valentine's base. We also destroyed most of the damned sim cards he was going to use to unleash his own personal Armageddon."

"Only most?"

"Three, Eggsy. One's preserved in a vault in case there's a reason we might need to have one intact and the other two are for research purposes. They've been dissected and analyzed."

"Sounds good then." Eggsy waited a moment and asked, "You the one who got me out of jail, no charges an' all?"

"Yes."

"Fanks. It means a lot to me bein' able to look after Daisy. CFS only allowed it 'cause I hadn't had any charges in three years."

"You and Daisy are more than welcome."

"I'm passin' you back to Harry now." He handed the glasses back.

"Why're you here, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath. "To ask you to come back to Kingsman, to work with us."

"It's a nice offer, Harry, but I'm gettin' me own life together, now."

Harry said, "I was so horribly angry that day. It took me a little time to understand why. To understand that I'd fallen for you. It hurt because it felt like you were part of me by then." He paused. "Am I making any sense?"

"Who're you askin' me or Merlin?"

"Merlin's giving me an earful so I don't need to ask."

"Yeah, Harry, you make sense. I s'ppose you worked me out then?"

"Not until today, I'm sad to say. Merlin made me watch it all again, and I saw… I saw you loving me back."

"An' you fink you can just walk back in eight months later and have me follow in your wake?"

"No, Eggsy. I hoped that you could forgive me. I hoped that you would let me, for lack of a better term, woo you. Or failing that, I hoped you'd at least let me renew our friendship. It came to mean quite a lot to me. And I didn't even realize it until you weren't there when I came back."

"I got a sister, an' I have to treat more like a daughter. That an' school an' work -- I guess Merlin knows how I earn me money for classes."

Harry said, "We both do. Well, we know about the club and the Krav Maga. And we're certain you aren't selling drugs."

"But maybe I'm a prossie?" Eggsy shook his head. "Not goin' to pretend I never got on me knees to put food on the table, but I ain't done it since before the marines. Don't like takin' me clothes off to earn, but I know I'm lucky that I can earn that way, 'cause there still ain't a lot of jobs for someone like me." Eggsy smiled naturally for the first time since Harry came in. "Merlin givin' you anover earful?"

"Yes, he is. He also pointed out to me that I still do the occasional honey trap mission."

"Can see why. You're well fit, bruv."

"Please never call me that again."

"You're gorgeous, Harry. Give me your glasses? Please?"

Harry handed them over. 

"Merlin, I've been noticin' a theme here. So, I'll ask you this once. I can' see your face to know whether you're lyin', so you can give me whatever answer's easiest for you. Got it?"

"Is that the question?"

"Nah, and you know it. Have I been as blind to you as Harry was to me?"

Harry startled at the question, but was relieved to see Eggsy smiling easily at him.

The pause dragged on.

Finally, Merlin said, "You were, lad. But don't mind the fancies of an old man, ken?"

"If I knew an old man, I'd take your advice." 

Harry held his hands out for the glasses, and Eggsy shook his head. 

"What about you an' Harry, Merlin? And by the way, I'm askin' Harry the same thing."

Merlin said, "A long time ago we were lovers. He's hard to keep a relationship with, but I should maybe have fought harder."

Harry said, "I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger. Not that Merlin was a mistake, but I couldn't see us being more than friends with benefits, as they say, and turned away from what could have been a much less lonely life."

"Good answers, gentlemen. Merlin, does home mean working with you?"

"It does to me, Eggsy."

"Could it mean more? For all of us?"

Harry said, "Please let me have the glasses back. I promise you can hear Merlin's answer from his own lips, but he and I need a minute."

"Take as many as you like. I think I'll be indulgent and get anover bowl o' soup." He walked over and talked to the waitress for a moment before heading to the men's room.

"Merlin?"

"You can't break his heart, Harry, nor mine again. We can take our time and figure out exactly what the three of are or can mean to each other, but you have to be honest at every step."

"I'm amazed you'd trust me again."

"If your answer had been different a minute ago, I couldn't have. But it sounds like maybe you've grown up."

"You always were the adult in our relationship."

Merlin chuckled. "I have a feeling that role's going to be Eggsy's now."

"We'd be taking responsibility for a child, too."

"Yes, we would."

Eggsy came back to the table. "Need me to walk around the block?"

"Not at all. Merlin and I both recognize it would be a huge responsibility, trying to negotiate a relationship, trying to be good to Daisy, but I think I can safely say we both want to try it." He took off his glasses and handed them to Eggsy.

"I think you're good for him, lad, that's the most emotionally honest thing I've heard from him in years."

Eggsy said, "But you're all right with it?"

"We'll need to do a great deal of talking first. We can't just leap into bed together and let it settle later."

"Can we at least make out a bit?"

Merlin said, "Yes, Eggsy. I'm sure we can."

Harry said, "My answer to that is yes. I hope Merlin's is, too."

"No fear. I… what now?"

Harry said, "Finish your soup. Go get Daisy. Come home with me and expect Merlin to join us around six."

"I have work tonight. I need to at least give them notice."

"Would it bother you if we saw you perform?" Merlin asked.

"Want to come to the club tonight, Harry? Merlin said he'd meet you there -- or at least he implied it."

"Yes. I will pay for overpriced drinks in a foul smelling club so I can watch you taking your clothes off in front of other men."

Eggsy said, "That sounds a bit dangerous."

Harry laughed. "Believe me, I'm much less possessive than Merlin. We'll be there. You give your notice, and we can start negotiating tomorrow."

Eggsy said, "I love it when a plan comes together."

***  
Epilogue

Originally, Merlin was supposed to be running a cohort to fill two slots at the table, relics of Valentine's chips. 

Roxy had practically cried on Eggsy's shoulder. She kept saying how much she missed him and why hadn't he called more often. Percival, who listened to Roxy, and Sagramore who'd worked with Eggsy on a training project, brought him forward to fill one of the slots immediately. The table debated and finally voted in favor. His codename was now Erec.

And after a year of negotiation -- figuring out how and where they fit with each other -- the three of them bought a freehold halfway between the Angel and Islington with a large garden in the back for Daisy to play in.

**Author's Note:**

> Still coping with aftermath of concussion, so longer stories are on hold until I can be sure I'm remembering the plot points. In the meantime...


End file.
